VHT Pittbull UltraLead, tips?

[ttrentt]

I picked up one of these amps to experiement with. I am having a hard time getting a bitchin sound out of it. I know it is a "dry" distortion and doesn't hide playing flaws, that I am not worried about. Even overall brutality I can't seem to get quite right. I am used to very "oversaturated" metal amps, Engl, Mesa, 5150...maybe that is why.

Anybody have one? Tips?

Thanks,
Trent

 

[ttrentt]

Yes, it has the kt88s. I have a maxon 808 and will try that tonight. I hate putting a $100 pedal in front of a $3k amp.

 

[Wizard of Ozz]

My best tones from the amp were from the orange channel, high gain boost on... the red channel I pretty much used only for leads.

Also, I most always had the the graphic eq on in a "V" pattern. You can see my settings in the following pics:

The tightness/dryness of the amp (lack of saturation) was one of the things that lead me to sell it. I also found I didn't like the tone half-as much w/o the graphic eq on. I personally like a little more saturated gained out sound, especially for metal.

Another thing you may try is cranking the global master volume to "10" (the one near the power/standby switches) and controlling the volume of the amp via the individual channel masters, as some like the sound better this way.

 

[ttrentt]

I've seen some other pic settings and I can't believe how low people have the gain set. Even on full orange and full red it doesn't seem "high-gain.". Maybe because it's not so saturated.

 

[Wizard of Ozz]

I've seen some other pic settings and I can't believe how low people have the gain set. Even on full orange and full red it doesn't seem "high-gain.". Maybe because it's not so saturated.

I agree. The UltraLead has 4 preamp gain stages (in high gain mode), so on paper, it produces as much gain as a Mesa Recto, Engl Powerball, Marshall JVM which all also have 4 preamp gain stages. Even though it might not sound like it. The difference is the voicing and eq section. It's just really tight, dry, and different from most every other high gain head out there.

 

[Lasse Lammert]

it's an awesome head and one of the tightest highgain heads out there....but I'm with Ozz here, I've also sold (or rather traded) mine cause it was just too dry sounding for me.
I'm also into Amps like uber, recto, 6505 etc and the Pittbull just doesn't have that saturation (and is not meant to have it).
it's an awesome sounding amp, but it won't give you those thikly saturated tones.

 

[slashvanyoung]

Am I right in assuming that this thing sounds a quite similar to a Mark IV?

 

[Lasse Lammert]

Am I right in assuming that this thing sounds a quite similar to a Mark IV?

not at all...

it has more of a (very good!!!) 2203 vibe IMO...
WAY more controlled sounding than a 2203, but you can kinda hear some 2203 style in the sound...
it's got that openess and high.mid bite of the old JCM800.
the MKIV sounds much smoother and also more compressed than the pitt the Pittbull is even tighter than the MK4 (both are very tight though)

 

[Metaltastic]

Yes, it has the kt88s. I have a maxon 808 and will try that tonight. I hate putting a $100 pedal in front of a $3k amp.

What about running your amp through a cab with 4 speakers each worth ~$100?

 

[ttrentt]

not at all...

it has more of a (very good!!!) 2203 vibe IMO...
WAY more controlled sounding than a 2203, but you can kinda hear some 2203 style in the sound...
it's got that openess and high.mid bite of the old JCM800.
the MKIV sounds much smoother and also more compressed than the pitt the Pittbull is even tighter than the MK4 (both are very tight though)

I had a Mesa DC-5 which I believe to be an underated amp. If it was similar to a IV, then the pittbull isn't even close sounding. The Pitbull has an incredibly unique sound. I think it has a niche sound, just gotta find it.

 

[wishtheend]

The trick with this amp is in dual/quad tracking. It'll never sound thick enough by itself, but once you pile on some layers it really thickens out. I also would just play around with cabinets to match with it. It obviously has a killer low end, but I found in the Recto cabs, it was a bit much and had to dial some out. Paired with a 1960 cab, it sounded amazing.

 

[slashvanyoung]

I've never ever heard a Pitbull, that's why I was asking.

 

[Trevoire520]

I hate putting a $100 pedal in front of a $3k amp.

Dont be so daft. Andy doesn't have a problem putting a tubescreamer in front of any of his amps, and neither does anyone else on the forum.

Remember, you're using it to shape the guitar signal on the way in, not get any gain from it.

 

[Bromigo]

I agree. The UltraLead has 4 preamp gain stages (in high gain mode), so on paper, it produces as much gain as a Mesa Recto, Engl Powerball, Marshall JVM which all also have 4 preamp gain stages. Even though it might not sound like it. The difference is the voicing and eq section. It's just really tight, dry, and different from most every other high gain head out there.

Not true at all. In amp design, you have to factor in power supply voltages, cathode bypass caps, interstage gain regulation, and preamp tube bias in to gain. Yes, it has as much POTENTIAL gain as the amps you listed, but only with modifications.

 

[Wizard of Ozz]

Not true at all. In amp design, you have to factor in power supply voltages, cathode bypass caps, interstage gain regulation, and preamp tube bias in to gain. Yes, it has as much POTENTIAL gain as the amps you listed, but only with modifications.

Umm... not sure I'm following you here?

All the amps I listed have 4 preamp gain stages... 2 tubes (4 triodes, 2 per tube) are dedicated to distorting the signal as it pass thru the preamp section. Cathode bypass caps (if used may increase the gain level), preamp tubes are self-biasing so I'm not sure what you mean here, and the B+ or plate voltage will have little effect on the amount the of preamp gain produced by these amps. All have nearly the same 4 preamp gain stage layout, with some minor tweaks.

 

[ttrentt]

Thanks for all the help guys. Ended up trading it for a Cobra. It isn't saturated enough for my playing style.

 

[Bromigo]

Umm... not sure I'm following you here?

All the amps I listed have 4 preamp gain stages... 2 tubes (4 triodes, 2 per tube) are dedicated to distorting the signal as it pass thru the preamp section. Cathode bypass caps (if used may increase the gain level), preamp tubes are self-biasing so I'm not sure what you mean here, and the B+ or plate voltage will have little effect on the amount the of preamp gain produced by these amps. All have nearly the same 4 preamp gain stage layout, with some minor tweaks.

Uhhh, preamp tubes are not self biasing. I guess, maybe they are in the sense that you don't have to apply a negative voltage to the grid, they are more like Cathode Biased PAs. But you can most certainly bias a tube cold or hot...

Ever look at amp schematics and compared them? They all have the same general structure, yes (4 mu amp configured triodes, possibly with a cathode follower), but they can all have a very different sound and gain levels. Preamp tube bias is determined by the Rk and Ra resistors (cathode and anode, respectively). The differences in these two resistors determines gain of the stage, and the voltage swing.

A common way to lay it out is to have the first two stages biased relatively neutral to warm, to have the most gain possible out of those stages without the sound becoming too compressed. The third stage is usually a cold clipping stage (mostly with a large cathode resistor, such as 39k. However, ENGL uses the larger value on the anode resistor). The object of this is to lower the headroom of the triode so much that clipping occurs. The cold bias causes heavy voltage swing which clips the signal asymmetrically. It then leads to the fourth stage, and possibly cathode follower, which increases gain to make up for the heavily compressed signal.

The stages can certainly be biased differently. If it weren't for that, all amps would have a very similar voicing. Not only that, but interstage voltage dividers can also reduce gain levels. Not all amps are the same, and not all amps with four triodes will have the same level of gain. I have seen amps that only have 3 triodes and a cathode follower that could give any 4 triode amp a run for their money.

 

[B3 Bob]

I picked up one of these amps to experiement with. I am having a hard time getting a bitchin sound out of it. I know it is a "dry" distortion and doesn't hide playing flaws, that I am not worried about. Even overall brutality I can't seem to get quite right. I am used to very "oversaturated" metal amps, Engl, Mesa, 5150...maybe that is why.

Anybody have one? Tips?

Thanks,
Trent

Sorry my reply is 7 years late. A couple of suggestions after living with mine for a while. There are an awful lot of ways to wreck your sound with presence, mid shift, gain, and eq options and controls. This amp has more gain than anything I have ever played through, including the 6505+. Tube choice has a LOT to do with your end results. If you are looking for power amp distortion, I would suggest getting the older VHT version. You can use either KT88's or 6L6's in the power stage. I would go with 5881's (6L6WGB), which break up sooner than a 6L6GC, and far more than the KT88's ever will. My other suggestion is to just play through the amp. Its there, if you just unlock it.